The Best Habit You Could Ever Create

Habits. Good ones, bad ones, cute ones, quirky ones. They form a significant portion of our lives, and we might not realize how deeply ingrained they are until we try to change one of them. I know for myself, habit change does not come easily. There are habits I’ve been trying on and off for years to change and I still haven’t succeeded.

Yet there’s one habit I have that I hope I never lose. I’m not perfect at doing it every day, and I can’t take any credit for forming this habit because it was exemplified and taught to me from an early age by my mother. It’s a habit that I’d love to encourage you to create for yourself, because the benefits of this habit are countless. It’s really quite simple, for as dynamic as it can make your life. It’s the habit of daily Bible study and prayer.

How necessary is spending time with God to you?

If you have accepted Christ as your Savior, you have a relationship with the God of the universe who came to earth, died, and rose for you. But if you’re not doing anything to cultivate that relationship, you’re missing out on so much. It’s like…owning a treadmill but not using it. You have to do the work to get the benefits. So to show you how worth it this discipline is, let me share some of the ways it has made my life better.

When I spend time with God, I…

Gain wisdom for making decisions

More readily recognize God’s involvement in my life

See progress in becoming more like Jesus

Receive strength to obey God and fight temptation

Experience moments of revelation when a truth from Scripture comes alive to me

Am able to encourage others through Scripture

Enjoy a sense of peace and joyfulness in my soul

The One Thing Jesus Deemed Necessary

Remember the story of Mary and Martha? Martha was working hard, trying to do all the urgent tasks required of a hostess, while her sister Mary was just sitting around, listening to Jesus teach instead of helping with the work. Do you remember what Jesus told Martha after she complained to Him about her sister’s lack of help?

“The Lord answered her, ‘Martha, Martha, you are worried and upset about many things; but one thing is necessary. Mary has made the right choice, and it will not be taken away from her.’” (Luke 10: 41-42)

What must it have been like to be Martha, looking into the gentle eyes of Jesus as He lovingly rebuked her for her misplaced priorities? What a perspective shift she must have experienced! After looking into the eyes of the Messiah, as she looked around the room at the food waiting to be served, the dishes in the kitchen needing to be washed, the dust on the floor brought in by those who had entered her home, it must have looked so trivial to her. Maybe she even joined her sister there on the floor at Jesus’ feet, leaving the mess behind her.

Don’t you think this is what Jesus would be saying to us if He were present in our homes? Picture it: The weight of His hand on your shoulder as He looks into your eyes; you forget the unfolded laundry, the dirty dishes, the appointments to be raced to. He addresses you. “You are worried and upset about many things; but one thing is necessary.” One thing, says the Maker of Heaven and Earth, the One who holds Time in His eternal hands. He’s telling you that only one thing is necessary in your life. There is only one thing we must prioritize above all else.

“But,” our inner Martha protests, “My days are already full! I don’t have any extra time for this!” That’s a lie from the Devil, and you and I need to quit listening to that. Someone once said “Four hours of work after an hour of prayer will accomplish more than five hours of work without prayer.” Do you know who that was? George Muller. Through prayer and faith in God alone, he built five orphanages and cared for the needs of 10,024 orphans. Over ten thousand orphans. He also provided education for 120,000 children (many of them orphans) in the 117 schools he established. Talk about a busy man! But he had exactly the right attitude about the place time with God deserves in our lives. Our mindset needs to change from “I’m too busy to pray!” to “I’m too busy NOT to pray!”

There is nothing more crucial to your eternal success that the habit of a daily quiet time with God. {tweet this}

If you want to to succeed, not just in this life, but in the one to come, this is what you must do: spend time with God. This isn’t the idea of a girl writer from New Hampshire or the idea of a guy from the 1800’s who cared for ten thousand orphans. This is Jesus’ idea.

Will you match your priorities to His?

P.S. It’s my goal to help you cultivate your own habit of spending time with God, so keep checking back for new encouragement, resources, and practical tips on this topic. The best way to make sure you don’t miss anything is to subscribe by email. Just scroll up and enter your email address in the box and click on the Subscribe button. It’s as easy as that! Thanks for reading and I look forward to seeing you around! ~Diana